Washington State Decision Makes LID Mandatory

By Henrietta H. P. Locklear; she is with AMEC Earth and Environmental Inc. in Raleigh, NC.
LID, low impact development, are techniques used to reduce the impact of stormwater runoff by using green practices, such as wetlands, rain gardens, vegetative roofs, etc. In Washington state, LID poised to being implemented on a more-widespread basis. A decision in a Washington state lawsuit over National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit language, issued in August 2008, concludes that the Washington “Phase I Permit must be modified to require the use of LID where feasible, as it is necessary to meet the MEP [maximum extent practicable] and AKART [all known and reasonable technology] standards of federal and state law, respectively” (Pollution Control Hearings Board, PCHB, 2008). Because of the ruling, Phase I permittees in Washington will now require new developments to implement these green infrastructure practices, LID, where feasible. The Phase I ruling is the first decision that directly requires LID to be implemented through means of an NPDES permit. The Washington decision itself notes that the EPA has not required LID, but is increasingly supporting it through publications, fact sheets, and its Web site (PCHB 2008). >>See more http://www.stormh2o.com/july-august-2009/washington-state-decision-1.aspx or see more about LID, sustainablity or other environmental issues at my web site:http://www.dongreenenvironmental.com/index.html

In-Home Energy Evaluation

Nashville Electric Service, NES, in partnership with TVA, offers the In-Home Energy Evaluation. Reduce your power usage and receive cash incentives for installing energy-efficiency improvements.

Participants pay an up-front fee of $150 for the evaluation. If any recommended improvements are made over $150, the fee will be reimbursed. Plus, you will be reimbursed 50% of the installation cost up to $500. >>More
http://www.nespower.com/home_evaluation.aspx

Going GREEN Better for the Environment and your Health

With increasing technology and public initiatives, many cities and states are moving towards a green paradigm, insuring that environmental sustainability is on the minds of officials and citizens. Living in a world where environmental sustainability is a vital concern to the future of mankind, it is important to take note of the consequences of improper building materials and environmental degradation.

Many older homes may still harvest obsolete and corrosive building materials which can create health concerns. Used throughout the 20^th century, asbestos became one of most sought after building applications in the world. Asbestos is the name given for a group of fibrous minerals that were mined for their qualities as fire resistant, insulation and high durability. Commonly used to insulate boilers and pipes, most homes built after 1980 could harvest asbestos or other environmental defected insulation techniques. If any asbestos is suspected, the best advice is to leave it un-disturbed. Touching or breaking it off may cause it to become damaged and release its fibers into the air.

If any asbestos is suspected, the best advice is to leave it un-disturbed. Touching or breaking it off may cause it to become damaged and release its fibers into the air. Deteriorated or disturbed asbestos can cause a slew of health problems, such as malignant mesothelioma. With a latency period that lasts 20 to 50 years, it isn’t until the later stages of progression when physicians usually are able to accurately diagnose this disease. Due to the fact many symptoms are similar to less serious ailments, mesothelioma diagnosis is one of the more difficult tasks physicians encounter.

A catalyst for homes, schools, industries, universities and businesses, the diversity of enterprises is driven by a common bound to move to a greener, more sustainable form of living. With growing education and technology in green sustainable energy and building resources, many locations in the U.S. are swiftly changing their construction practices to suit the environment and the health of human beings. Most people are unaware to the fact that eco-friendly products can cut energy costs by 25 % per year. Due to these recycled materials, waste is decreasing in crowded landfills. On February 17, 2009, congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law. Included in this act were extensions of the Energy Efficiency Tax Incentives first enacted in 2005 as well as some new tax credits for people building or remodeling their homes using eco-friendly or “green” materials. Green alternatives to asbestos include the use of cotton fiber, lcynene foam and cellulose. Cotton fiber is becoming a favorite insulation method. Made from recycled batted material, it is then treated to be fireproof. These green options have the same beneficial qualities as asbestos, minus the health deteriorating and toxic components. These options allow for a safe, environmentally sustainable home, free of any health corroding materials.
Paul James,
Mesothelioma Cancer Center

Chemicals That Eased One Woe Worsen Another

Hydroflurocarbons (HFC) have been widely used as substitute for chlorofluorocarbons, CFCs, (chemicals used in air conditioners, refrigerators, etc.) and other chemicals that have been targeted as depleting the ozone layer (the layer that protects the earth from UV radiation - cancer causing sun rays). HFCs are a much more powerful greenhouse gas contributor than CO2 and are now potentially creating a problem.
According to the recent paper, there will soon be many more of HFCs used, as developing countries become more prosperous and their people buy vehicles and air conditioners.
From David A. Fahrenthold
Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, July 20, 2009

Green Infrastructure Webcast on Green Streets and Operation & Maintenance

Green Infrastructure Webcast on Green Streets and Operation &
Maintenance: Tuesday, July 28, 2009, 1:00 - 3:00 pm Eastern

Green Highways and Green Streets are increasingly becoming critical elements of community strategies to create a sustainable infrastructure for the 21st Century. The integration of green technologies into street right-of-ways is allowing communities to develop innovative approaches
for stormwater retrofits of urban areas that incorporate many of the benefits of Green Infrastructure, including urban heat island reduction, job creation, and energy savings.
This webcast will also include numerous lessons learned from Seattle's experience, and examples of O&M manuals developed for specific projects.

This EPA webcast will be held June 28, 2009 from 1:00 to 3:00 Eastern time. To sign up for this free webcast, go to www.epa.gov/npdes/training

Nancy Arazan
ORISE Fellow
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Water Permits Division
Washington, DC
202.564.1045
www.epa.gov/greeninfrastructure
http://picasaweb.google.com/buildgreeninfrastructure/

Wal Mart Moves to Grade Suppliers on Sustainability

Wal-Mart is set to announce a new sustainability index that will grade various suppliers and products by a range of environmental and sustainable factors. It will lead manufacturers to label their products in such a way that lets consumers easily discern the sustainability of one product over the other. Walmart has developed a a consortium which will be led by the University of Arkansas and Arizona State University. Additionally, faculty at Duke, Harvard, the University of Michigan, the University of California at Berkeley and Stanford have also been involved in planning the index. They have also invited Costco, Target and Kroger to join the sustainability consortium that will have a hand in crafting the index. Unless you look at the entire life cycle of the product, you just can’t measure the environmental impact.
This is a big step for them.
From Marc Gunther "The Big Money"

Solar Redux

I attended "Flip The Switch" at 438 Main Street in Franklin today. Karen Noel Cochran, a member of the Franklin Sustainability Task Force, flipped the switch on her 64 SunPower 230 watt 4.7kW photovoltaic solar electric system atop her Five Points building.
Skip Heibert on top of the building
This system, designed and installed by LightWave Solar Electric, LLC is the second largest in the Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Coop. district (MTEMC). At peak it produces @ 14.7 kW per day; this will offset the energy costs of her Five Points Franklin properties at least $3,850 a year. The project was granted a TN Clean Energy Technology, TN-CET, grant (a Federal Energy Investment Tax Credit) that will pay for 40 percent of the system, a 30 percent tax credit, and a federal five-year accelerated depreciation benefit (MACRS): altogether it will cover approximately 85% of the cost of the system. These programs, TN Small Business Energy Loan and Tennessee Clean Energy Technology Grant Program are reimbursement programs and the system has to be built and certified, by TVA or MTEMC, prior to being eligible for the loan or grant.
TVA gives credit of 22 cents above the normal general power rate for all the power generated by the solar system; this means Mrs.Cochran can sell back the power not used at 22 cents above the current going rate.

The solar panel's performance is monitored and managed in real-time via the SunPower online monitoring system, which can be viewed inside the Starbucks at Five points or on the Internet, when it is up and running. You can also see the power being produced by the photovoltaic system installed at Bells Bend Nature Center/Metro Parks.

Solar in Tennessee

FYI
Tennessee has the world largest manufacture of solar (photovoltaic) panels in Memphis: Sharp Solar (albeit they sell @ 75% of them outside the US!). In 2008 that company was joined by Shoals Technologies, Inc. which established headquarters and manufacturing operations for solar panels in Gallatin, TN and Hemlock Semiconductor announced plans to build a $1.2 billion (with a B) facility for manufacture of ultra pure polycrystalline silicon in Clarksville, TN in December 2008 (polycrystalline silicon is used as a semiconductor material in solar panels). A competitor of Hemlock, Wacker Chemi AG of Munich, Germany announced plans to build a $1 Billion dollar (B again) polycrystalline silicon operation in Cleveland, TN in early 2009.
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The word Photovoltaic is a combination of the Greek word for Light and the name of the physicist Allesandro Volta. It identifies the direct conversion of sunlight into energy by means of solar cells.>>more

Solar cells are composed of various semiconducting materials. Semiconductors are materials, which become electrically conductive when supplied with light or heat, but which operate as insulators at low temperatures.
See June 10th Energy Audit click here